#2 Terps Stay Perfect with 16-10 Win vs. #8 Irish

Maryland Athletics

3-15-2014

COLLEGE PARK, Md. –Brooke Griffin tallied seven points to lead the No. 2 Maryland women’s lacrosse team to a 16-10 win against new conference foe No. 8 Notre Dame Saturday at the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex.

Griffin notched four goals and three assists as Maryland (9-0, 3-0 ACC) held its ninth opponent to 10 or fewer goals in 2014. Taylor Cummings posted four goals and Kelly McPartland recorded a hat trick to aid the Terrapin attack. Cummings added a pair of assists to move her team-leading point total to 41.

Notre Dame (6-3, 1-3 ACC) landed on the scoreboard first with an early tally 39 seconds into the game. Maryland answered with a trio of goals by Beth Glaros, Cummings and Griffin for a 3-1 lead 25:58.

Both teams exchanged shots for more than 10 minutes before the Irish tallied their second goal of the game with about 15 minutes to play in the first half and registered their third three minutes later to knot the match at 3-3.

The Terps utilized the final nine minutes of the first stanza to take control of the game offensively, outscoring Notre Dame 6-1 to post a decisive 9-4 advantage at the half. Griffin and McPartland each recorded two goals in the integral scoring stretch while Zoe Stukenberg and Kristen Lamon both added one.

Maryland continued its domination on the draw in the second period and capped the game with a significant 22-5 advantage in the category on the day. The Terps opened up the stanza with a pair of goals by Cummings and Glaros to stretch the lead to 11-4 before Notre Dame’s Kiera McMullan nailed a free position to halt Maryland’s 5-0 run with 26:32 remaining.

The two teams – who met for the first time Saturday – exchanged goals in-and-around the 16-minute mark for a 13-6 score midway through the second half. McPartland capped her hat trick with a goal at 11:32 to extend the Terps’ cushion to eight but ND notched two scores on an unassisted score and a free position for a 14-8 score with 7:12 remaining.

Stukenberg and Cummings accounted for Maryland’s final two goals as the Terps regained their eight-goal lead but a pair of last-minute tallies by the Irish closed the scoring at 16-10.

Erin Collins was spectacular on the draw, posting a career-high nine. Cummings added four draw controls and a team-high four ground balls. Abbey Clipp recorded 10 saves in the cage.

“Notre Dame is a really strong team so this is a great win for us against a top-10 ranked ACC opponent,” head coach Cathy Reese said. “It’s nice to be back home as well after being on the road a couple of weeks and I thought we also had a great crowd, which was great to see.”

Maryland seeks its 10th win of the year when it hits the road for a game at Penn Wednesday at 7 p.m.